In recent years, the question of age and fitness for public office has become a prominent issue in American politics mostly because of Joe Biden, who was already a few fries short of a Happy Meal when he ran for president in 2020, and I can’t think of anyone who legitimately believed he was capable of serving another four years when he announced his plan to seek a second term. This week, we have once again had the issue of physical and mental fitness for office thrust in our faces again with the recent injuries of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
It’s ironic how the issue of physical and mental fitness has become a political weapon — typically through a partisan lens. Democrats once questioned Donald Trump’s mental acuity during his presidency yet spent the majority of Joe Biden’s presidency pretending he was “sharp as a tack,” “a beast,” and “running circles around his staff.” It literally took a botched debate performance for Democrats to put an end to the charade that Joe Biden wasn’t physically able or mentally competent for the presidency.
The broader issue is that age and declining health often impede effective governance. The concerns about age and cognitive decline, however, go far beyond the presidency and extend deeply into Congress, where aging lawmakers often cling to power despite noticeable declines in their health and effectiveness.
Related: Nancy Pelosi Hospitalized in Europe
The late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) health deteriorated rapidly over the last few years of her life, and she was apparently cognitively impaired enough that, according to reports, her staff was telling her how to vote on legislation. Other leaders who are in safe seats like Feinstein's are all too often unwilling to step down, even when it’s clear that their mental faculties are compromised. Despite the advances in modern medicine and healthcare, there comes a point when stepping aside is simply the responsible thing to do, but that's usually the road not taken.
This is hardly a new phenomenon. Strom Thurmond, a Republican senator from South Carolina, famously served from 1956 to 2003 and retired when he was 100 years old. Rumors of his senility circulated long before he finally retired, and his tenure serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of clinging to power for too long.
The public recognizes that there’s a problem here. A Pew Research poll from last year found that 82% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats support establishing maximum age limits for elected officials in Washington, D.C.
Are age caps the best solution? That's not the easiest question to answer because numerical age alone isn’t necessarily the best gauge and is often not applied consistently. The same Democrats who called in "ageist" to question Joe Biden's age were more than willing to accuse Trump of being too old to be president, especially after Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee.
Lucidity can vary greatly, even among individuals of the same age group. Unfortunately, when elected officials refuse to relinquish power, voters seem reluctant to retire them from office, perpetuating the cycle.
